Warm Quinoa & Chickpea Salad.

Even though it’s almost always summer in south Florida, sometimes I crave big bowls of warm comfort food. And lately I’ve been feeling super fatigued – a few nights ago, Bryan said to me, “Mandy, you need to stop working so much.” And today when he left for work he said, “please do something fun today.”

Anyway, this quinoa salad has been fueling my extremely exhausted (and sore) body and has been helping me get through these crazy busy days.

It’s best served warm, but also taste great cold – which I have been forced to do while traveling from house to house in my car (don’t worry, safety is always first!). It totally reminds me of one of those fancy packaged salads you would see at your favorite grocery store or Costco, but this one you can easily prepare at home! It’s so simple – quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, pepper and a light lime dressing. It makes a really good lunch because the chickpeas provide lots of fiber to keep you feeling full and the quinoa is a great source of protein.

Warm Quinoa & Chickpea SaladYield: Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS

1 cup quinoa, cooked

1 (15oz) can chickpeas

1 Roma tomato, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 small red pepper, diced

salt & pepper to taste

1 teaspoon cumin

DRESSING

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T white wine vinegar

2 T fresh squeeze lime juice

Additional (optional) toppings: sour cream, avocado, chopped nuts.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Begin by cooking quinoa with 2 cups of veggie broth (or water). Bring broth (or water) and quinoa to a boil then let simmer until quinoa is light and fluffy.

Once quinoa is done, transfer to a medium bowl. Allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Combine quinoa, chickpeas & remaining vegetables in a large bowl. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl then add on top over salad, stirring until combined and adjusting seasonings to taste. Enjoy!

I topped mine with fresh sliced avocado and it was delicious!

Hope everyone is having a nice week so far. I listened to Bryan today and I did something fun – I took a 2 hour nap! It felt amazing. 🙂 Oh, and I spent some much needed quality time with my own pups…

I’ve been feeling like I have been neglecting them lately! And cheating on them with all these other doggies. I hope they know they are, and always will by my #1…2 and 3! 🙂